Vietnam will open Vietnamese language classes in six countries this year as part of a 10-year plan to provide better quality teaching to overseas Vietnamese, an official said at a conference on Tuesday.

The classes will be opened in Vientiane, capital of Laos, Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, Moscow, Prague in the Czech Republic, California and Toronto, said Dang The Hung, deputy head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese.

The new initiative aims to help overseas Vietnamese more improve listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in their native language. This would, in turn, help preserve traditional Vietnamese culture and customs, Hung said.

The main aim of the two-day conference that opened in Hanoi on Monday was to discuss a pilot project to improve the teaching of Vietnamese in Laos and Cambodia.